Skanda Purana — Avanti Khanda, Shloka 163

Devanagari script

कृतं जन्मसहस्राणामतीते परिजन्मनि । गतेन पाप्मनात्मानं नरकेषु च संस्थितिः

Transliteration

kṛtaṃ janmasahasrāṇāmatīte parijanmani | gatena pāpmanātmānaṃ narakeṣu ca saṃsthitiḥ

Translation

«À cause de ce péché commis dans une renaissance antérieure, durant des milliers de naissances son âme alla demeurer dans les royaumes infernaux.»

Word by Word

• kṛtaṃ: (a) deed done
• kṛtaṃ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛta (कृदन्त; √kṛ धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular); भूतकृदन्त (past participle) भाववाचक-प्रयोगः ('deed done')

• janma-sahasrāṇām: of thousands of births
• janma-sahasrāṇām: Shashthi-sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठीसम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: janma (प्रातिपदिक) + sahasra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), षष्ठी-विभक्ति (Genitive/6th), बहुवचन (Plural); तत्पुरुषः ('of thousands of births')

• atīte: in the past
• atīte: Adhikarana (Location-in-time/अधिकरण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: atīta (कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक; √i धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular); भूतकृदन्त (past participle) विशेषण (qualifying parijanmani)

• pari-janmani: in a former birth
• pari-janmani: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pari-janman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग (Neuter), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन (Singular)

• gatena: by (that which has) gone/passed
• gatena: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: gata (कृदन्त; √gam धातु)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग/पुंलिङ्ग (Neuter/Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular); भूतकृदन्त, विशेषण (qualifying pāpmanā)

• pāpmanā: by sin
• pāpmanā: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pāpman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), तृतीया-विभक्ति (Instrumental/3rd), एकवचन (Singular)

• ātmānaṃ: oneself/the self
• ātmānaṃ: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ātman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन (Singular)

• narakeṣu: in hells
• narakeṣu: Adhikarana (Location/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (Masculine), सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), बहुवचन (Plural)

• ca: and
• ca: Samuccaya (Conjunction/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (Indeclinable), समुच्चयार्थक-निपात (conjunction)

• saṃsthitiḥ: abiding/remaining (state)
• saṃsthitiḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: saṃsthiti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग (Feminine), प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन (Singular)

Speaker

Mārkaṇḍeya

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Revā (Narmadā)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: Rājan

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A didactic vision: the animal’s soul-stream shown passing through dark naraka landscapes—iron forests, rivers of heat—then returning toward embodied life; the king listens, shaken.

Characters & Entities

• naraka (hell-realms)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Severe wrongdoing can result in prolonged suffering in naraka and extended karmic consequences across many births.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The broader passage is a Revā Khaṇḍa tīrtha-māhātmya account; this verse itself focuses on karmic aftermath rather than naming the site.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

None explicitly in this verse.